


Combustion

by WitheringFeniks



Series: Rise From the Ashes [5]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson Friendship, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), M/M, Minor Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark, Not Clint Friendly, Not Natasha Friendly, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Sam Wilson-centric, Sam redemption, Scott redemption, Temporary Character Death, but he was just kinda misjudged
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 08:53:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30019254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitheringFeniks/pseuds/WitheringFeniks
Summary: Sam returns to the US a new man.One that won’t allow himself to only see the small picture—that was what had gotten him into this situation in the first place. No more blinders.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: Rise From the Ashes [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1651261
Comments: 26
Kudos: 305





	Combustion

**Author's Note:**

> It's been more than a bit since I've posted anything Marvel-related. I got stuck with what I wanted this series to be and where to take it as well as taking a break from the fandom in general. Don't know when the next piece will be, unfortunately.
> 
> I hope this lives up to the previous instalments!
> 
> So here is Sam's piece! Hope you enjoy my take on him!

** COMBUSTION **

Listening to Wanda spew vile and disgusting things whenever anything Avengers related was on the news got old real quick—especially when Clint only encouraged her by joining in to insult Stark.

Sam—tired, homesick and angry—spent most of the day just reading to help it move along quicker.

A lot of happened in the span of only a few weeks, they were some of the Most Wanted people in the world, Stark had tried to kill both Barnes and Steve, they were stuck in Wakanda under a lockdown so no one, not even actual Wakanda people, knew they were here.

Sam is sympathetic to T’Challa. He really is.

The Princes, now _King_ , has to deal with Steve’s constant childish behaviour of demanding Barnes be let out, weapons to keep on ‘fighting the good fight’ and to lighten their restrictions that kept them to the villa.

Sam— _exhales_.

The only non-crazy one is Lang, he’s known Natasha long enough to see she’s not exactly what most would consider normal, but he’s just moping at his idiocy. Sam’s…not too far behind, but he doesn’t know what to think about the Stark situation.

Everything points to Steve’s retelling as fact but—something doesn’t seem right. Steve hadn’t met his eyes when he had questioned him. Rubbing the back of his neck, and Sam’s known the guy long enough to read his cues.

_Steve was lying to him._

And that, that _really_ pissed him off.

At this point, Sam didn’t care what exactly Steve was lying about, just that he’s said or done something that probably got them into an even worst situation than this started as.

Don’t take that as Sam denying his own wrongdoings; he’s not an idiot, he’s not wearing rose-tinted glasses like Steve. Sam knows they have fucked up—that they deserve this, but he has no idea what to do, how to do anything. So he keeps to himself, keeps away from the toxic environment Barton and Wanda have been making the villa; gets to know Scott; thinks about his family; thinks about what had happened; how this had happened and most of all—where he had allowed himself to become blinded by the image of Captain America because Steve was not the person grandparents told their children about, not what the government and stories told him as, not what he had been portrayed as once upon a time.

Really, Sam only has himself to blame for allowing this to go on for so long.

* * *

Redwing vanishes one night, and Sam isn’t going to even try and deny it—Tony had brought her home.

That also meant Tony knew where they were.

Sam likes to hope that one day if they go home he had a chance to make it up to Tony, to Redwing for not doing her justice. She deserved a much better partner than he had been.

* * *

When Barnes is brought out of cryo—not that Sam is surprised he went under in the first place, with Steve and his trauma and those horrible trigger words—there is a visible weight that has been lifted from his shoulders. Sam is glad to see Barnes happy and they find some common ground between them. Sam and Scott both have a delight in helping bring James up to speed on the world around them.

James might have been free from HYDRA, but he hasn’t had the chance to find his place—a constant life of looking over his shoulder warily in case someone was there wasn’t the time to get distracted by more than necessary after all.

Sam learns that despite what HYDRA had done to him, they hadn’t tainted his view of Russian—in fact, Barnes liked it. The low rumble he made when speaking and accent was a surprising welcome.

Steve on the other hand _hates_ it with his entire being—Sam’s rightfully pissed that Steve can’t just be happy to see his supposedly best friend finally learning himself, finally piecing things together to start afresh.

Maybe its because James isn’t what he used to be. That James isn’t Bucky Barnes, best friend of Steve Rogers. No, the metal armed man before them was James Barnes, whoever he wanted to be.

It leaves a bitter taste in his mouth at the realisation—just another flaw in Steve he had, Sam wasn’t going to deny, been willfully ignoring.

There had been a lot of things Sam had been willfully ignoring because he thought too highly of Steve to even thinking that Captain America might not be this righteous person he had been portrayed as.

It makes him feel sick, makes Sam want to bury his face into his hands and sob—how had he allowed himself to become a yes man? How had he allowed himself to take everything at face value? How had he allowed himself to be nescient?

* * *

Sam browses occasionally, wants to keep up to date with the Accords—Superhero Registration Act—and watches to growth the Averages go through that the initiative had been denied previously.

* * *

In the end, they return to America and Sam isn’t going to pretend it’s because they are wanted. No, this way they can be kept watch over.

Steve, being the ever present ‘shield’ to quote-unquote ‘protect mankind’, is first off and everyone follows after him at their own pace.

Not unexpectedly before them is Tony, Vision, Rhodey—oh god, that guilt festered, and nothing could ever fix the fact Sam had a hand in paralyzing him—and Carol Danvers.

Sam isn’t even baffled that Steve steps forward and greets Tony.

Carol stepped forward, seemingly to slide in front of Tony. She is polite but stern with her words. It was clear what was she doing by standing in front of Tony.

_You’re speaking to me, no him._

“Mr Rogers. My name is Carol Danvers. I am the Co-leader of the Avengers alongside James Rhodey, who you are already familiar with. I would like to start with welcoming you all to the Compound. Since you were last here, there has been a large renovation and your former rooms are no longer available for your use. We have moved all your things to your new rooms. We’ll talk further there.”

Sam listens to the whispers between Wanda and Clint as they follow the group of four into the building.

Sam shares a look with Scott.

* * *

Rhodey speaks next, “As you know, despite signing the Superhero Registration Act, you’re here strictly on probation. You've got twelve months grace period to prove you’re willing to and ready to work within the SRA.”

“Seems a little much, doesn’t it?” He can’t help but ask curiously, arms folded. Don’t take that as him not knowing the reality. In truth, it seemed like too little, but Steve still thinks he agreed with him. Sam would like to keep it that way for a while, “We signed, isn’t that enough?”

“Don't treat us like some goddamn kid that needs a time out,” Barton huffed. Sam withheld a wince.

“Surprising but not actually really, I know kids that are _far_ more intelligent than you are, Barton,” Tony chips in; his amusement is clear.

Barton’s face twists into anger but thankfully doesn’t take the bait. Especially when Carol speaks up again, “No, it’s not enough. You sighing doesn’t erase what _happened_. Erase the fact the governments of the world and the public don’t trust you.”

“Just think of this twelve-month probationary period as time you can use to study and work to gain back that trust,” Rhodey added.

“Study what exactly?” Maximoff pips up bitterly, she visibly bits back her anger. Sam shifted in his spot nervously but—when wasn’t Wanda angry nowadays?

“Things here are run differently now, Miss Maximoff,” Vision finally speaks up, no fondness he had once held for Wanda there. Just professional politeness, “A chain of command with people that have trained for such a position, who have worked hard to make this work, make this as safe as possible for both the public and us.”

Maximoff visibly wilts more at Vision’s attitude towards her then his words but Sam doesn’t expect anything else truthfully.

Clint’s divorce is well deserved, Sam thinks.

* * *

Sam continued with what he had been doing in Wakanda—keeping to himself. In that first week, Sam knows James and Tony had hit off and he finds himself almost cruelly amused. Steve seems oblivious, maybe willfully oblivious? Sam wants to snort at the thought.

Scott had been trying to prove himself to his ex-wife, his kid, and Hope that he deserves the Antman suit and continued visitations with Cassie. He’s looking at work outside the Avengers during the probation period—to get his life together, he said, to prove he isn’t someone who’s just a constant fuck up. He wants to prove to not only his family and Hope that he is a good person that deserves this but to himself as well.

Sam likes that train of thought. He had some relatives coming to see him soon. He’s going to spend time grovelling for forgiveness. He wants to expand his horizons to prove that before he had allowed himself to be blinded but no more. He wasn’t going to allow that to happen. Sam enjoys being able to be the Falcon. Wants to do right and good and be held accountable but first, maybe he could start somewhere smaller. A job, one outside the Avengers like Scott.

If anyone would be willing to hire him that is.

* * *

It was two weeks before Sam is alone with Rhodey. It was awkward, Sam doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know if he would want to hear _my sorry_.

It was Rhodey that broke the silence first, “You’re trying, that’s all I can ask. It was an accident; no sole person is to blame for what happened.”

Sam felt like a marionette that had its strings cut. He can only nod, voice lodged in his throat. Deep down he still felt that guilt, that horror but knowing Rhodey didn’t hate him—

Rhodey reached over and squeezed his shoulder, “How about we talk about that job idea you had?”

Sam found himself smiling before he realised.

_Thank you._

* * *

It was chaos to put it lightly—the screaming, crying and it was all the movement that brought them outside to see what was causing all the commotion.

Sam didn’t expect to see Stephan, Rhodey and Carol gathered around Tony who lay on the floor, gasping for breath and blood splitting from his mouth. Oh god, what happened?

Vision had Riri in his arms as she sobbed uncontrollably.

All the kids—he can see Clint’s kids among them—were being taken away from the scene, to shield them from the sight.

“Carol,” Tony manages to rasp out and she seemed to immediately know what was going to happen—Rhodey too because he begins to yell to get back. He drags Carol with him and Stephen floats back, helping to shield Riri with Vision.

Steve, the idiot, moves forward. Sam latches onto his shirt before he could get closer and yanks. It causes Steve to stumble, the blond turned, annoyance and confusion.

“Sam—?”

Then Tony ruptures into flames, screaming in agony.

He burns like a star—like a supernova and it takes everything in Sam to not completely shy away from the brightness, squinting into the flames that scorch at the earth below Tony.

The flames moved unnaturally—there was no denying it, licks of flames departed and fell to the earth like feathers from a bird. They fizzled and burnt out before they touched the ground, leaving only ash.

The flames moved, they parted like wings and Sam can see Tony’s arching body between those wings of flame.

As the flames unfurled completely, coming towards the ground, it vanishes leaving only Tony in the centra of the scorched concrete.

When the others have taken Tony inside, there was quiet worried muttering but no one seems to be asking _what the hell happened_. No one but them any way, Sam quietly questions to himself—how many times had this happened to Tony?

“Lila!” a voice called.

Clint jerks next to him, head snapping around to see the young girl come rushing outside but her attention is not on them, no—it’s on the scorched concrete. She slows down as she draws close, there was a look on her face—fear, relief, longing, Sam couldn’t really put the expression into words, it was a mix of many things.

Clint takes a step forward, no doubt to approach, when Lila moves again—she lays on the concrete in the centre of the burns and stares skyward. That look never left her eyes. She spreads her arms out and Sam really can’t deny the shape the scorch takes, can’t ever forget what he had just witnessed.

Then quietly, Lila utters something. Her voice shaky, her worry clear as she blinks back tears, _“_ _When all that was left was ashes, he would again cloak himself in flames. Rise from the dust of his past to rekindle the spark of the future. For he was a phoenix, his own salvation; rebirthed, renewed, resurrected.”_

Those words ring in Sam’s ear for weeks to come.

“Lila!”

She stands slowly, gazes off into the distance then turns, pauses when she sees them, doesn’t bat an eye before walking away.

“Wait, Lila, sweetheart,” Clint calls after her but she doesn’t stop despite the plead in Clint’s voice. She doesn’t look back even once.

_Good on her_ , Sam thinks, she doesn’t need a man who claims to be her father yet leaves in the middle of the night because Captain America is more important than his family. May Clint reap what he sow.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts??


End file.
